Total joint arthroplasty (“joint replacement”) is the surgical replacement of a joint with a prosthesis. A typical knee prosthesis has three main components: a femoral implant, a tibial implant, and a tibio-femoral insert. In general, the femoral implant is designed to replace the distal femoral condyles. The femoral implant is typically made from metal. It typically includes a generally concave, facetted (i.e., piecewise planar) inwardly facing surface defining a cavity for receiving a resected distal femur and typically further includes a generally convex outwardly facing surface with medial and lateral rounded portions for emulating the medial and lateral condyles, respectively, and with a valley or depression between the rounded portions for emulating the patella sulcus/trochlear region of the distal femur. In general, the tibial implant is designed to support and align the tibio-femoral insert. The tibial implant is also typically made from metal. It typically includes a substantially planar tray or plate portion (“tibial plate”) for supporting the tibio-femoral insert, and an elongated stem extending distally from the tibial plate for anchoring the tibial implant in the metaphysic and/or intramedullary canal of the proximal tibia. In general, the tibio-femoral insert is designed to replace the tibial plateau and the meniscus of the knee. The tibio-femoral insert is typically made of a strong, smooth, low-wearing plastic. It is typically somewhat disk-shaped, and typically includes one or more substantially planar surfaces for bearing on the tibial plate and one or more generally concave surfaces for bearing against the femoral implant. The tibio-femoral insert also typically provides a clearance space (“patellar cutout”) for avoiding the natural patella (if saved) or a prosthetic patella (if the natural patella is resurfaced).
In a traditional knee replacement, a surgeon makes an incision spanning the distal femur, the knee, and the proximal tibia; everts (i.e., flips aside) the patella; separates the distal femur and the proximal tibia from surrounding tissues; and then hyperflexes, distally extends, and/or otherwise distracts the proximal tibia from the distal femur to enlarge the operating space. Next, the surgeon uses various resection guides and saws to prepare the proximal tibia and the distal femur for receiving the replacement prosthesis. A resection guide is a specialized jig or template configured to provide a desired cutting angle for a saw blade or other resection tool. After completing the necessary resections, the surgeon may apply cement to the distal femur and/or to the proximal tibia to ultimately help hold the femoral implant and/or tibial implant, respectively, in place. Alternatively, cementless fixation may be desired. Finally, the surgeon secures the tibial implant and the femoral implant to the proximal tibia and the distal femur, respectively, secures the tibio-femoral insert to the tibial implant, returns the patella or resurfaces it with a prosthetic component, and closes the incision.
In a “fixed bearing” knee prosthesis, the tibio-femoral insert is rotationally fixed relative to the tibial plate; whereas, in a “mobile bearing” knee prosthesis the tibio-femoral insert can pivot relative to the tibial plate to allow proper alignment with the femoral component, reduce stresses at the bone-prosthesis interface, and promote load sharing with surrounding soft tissues. Historically, the pivotal axis of the tibio-femoral insert in mobile bearing designs has been centered between medial and lateral portions of the tibial plate; the tibio-femoral insert has had symmetrical medial and lateral portions; and the patellar cutout has been centered between the medial and lateral portions of the tibio-femoral insert. However, the natural human knee has a pivotal axis that is actually medially offset (i.e., extends only into the medial compartment of the proximal tibia as opposed to being centered between the medial and lateral compartments); the anterior-posterior dimension of the lateral compartment of the natural tibial plateau is actually smaller than that of the medial compartment. Additionally, the risk of bearing dislocation or “spinout” may be undesirably high for some mobile bearing designs that do not incorporate stops to limit the rotation of the tibio-femoral insert; and the posterior cruciate ligament (“PCL”), when saved, may be undesirably impinged by posterior surfaces of some mobile bearing designs.
Moreover, minimally invasive surgical techniques are becoming increasingly popular. Minimally invasive surgeries generally involve, among other things, considerably smaller incisions and tighter working spaces than historical techniques in efforts to reduce patient traumas and accelerate post-operative recoveries. As minimally invasive surgery generally reduces the size of the surgical site, it also generally reduces the amount of space available for inserting, aligning, and securing the prosthetics. Some mobile bearing designs have a tibio-femoral insert that must be installed from above the tibial plate. The substantial exposures and separations of the distal femur and the proximal tibia required for some such “overhead” tibio-femoral insert installations are becoming increasingly incompatible with the space constraints of minimally invasive surgery.